So You Have the Travel Bug? Here Are A Few Quick Tips from a Seasoned Traveler
“I am of the wind. Whose sound is heard yet none can tell from whence it comes or where it goes.” — Queen Esther, One Night with the King
A quote that describes me in a nutshell. I suffer from wanderlust. I’ve had my fair share of travel experiences both domestically within the U.S. and internationally. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned traveler, we all love to get the most bang for our buck. I hope that these tips will help you do just that!
What You Must Know Before You Go
BE FLEXIBLE. Whether it pertains to the location that you plan to visit or the dates of travel, the key is to be flexible. Most airline and booking sites allow travelers to pick flexible dates. If your dates of travel aren’t absolute, be flexible when booking flights. It could save you a few hundred dollars!
Fly on off days if you can; it’s usually cheaper. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays are the cheapest days to fly for U.S. domestic flights. For international flights departing from the U.S., weekdays also tend to be the cheaper option for departure. If you are able to take time off during the week to travel, this is a viable option for you.
Safety First! If you are a solo traveler, value your safety first and foremost. As I am typically a solo female traveler, I always do research about the area that I plan to visit. Always let someone know where you will be and be aware of your surroundings at all times. If traveling to popular tourist destinations, beware of being pick-pocketed. “Keep your head on a swivel,” as my dad always says.
The Basics
Always cross-check prices for flights and hotels! If you find a flight or hotel deal on Expedia, Orbitz, Hotwire, or the like, cross-check with the airline or hotel website. If it costs the same or less, book on the airline or hotel site. Always do this; I can’t stress enough the importance of this. Get those membership points!
Connect your airline rewards accounts with your Uber or Lyft account. I have connected both my Delta Airlines SkyMiles account and JetBlue Airlines TrueBlue account with my Lyft account. This is an easy way to earn some extra miles. Uber has partnerships with airlines, as well. Check with your preferred airlines to see if the same opportunities to connect are offered.
Follow social media accounts of airlines. They post flash deals that may occur. Be in the know, follow the accounts.
Follow social media accounts for last-minute fares, low fares, or error fares. @Airfarewatchdog and @Secretflying (Twitter handles) are two of my faves.
Trip Planning Essentials
Skyscanner — My favorite trip planning tool is Skyscanner; I use it to plan all of my trips. This website/app is special because it allows you to plan a trip without a particular destination in mind. Whenever I plan a trip, I usually book a flight first. I can always find affordable accommodations, but it takes a little more work to find a great price for a flight.
As you can see in the picture below, the destination option is listed as “Everywhere.”
Whether you have a destination in mind or not, this website also allows you to pick travel dates by “Cheapest Month” if you aren’t set on a date.
*Caveat: Always check the average temperature for your destination if you use this option, especially if traveling internationally. Off-season travel can be fun but if you’re traveling to a destination for a particular reason, make sure you’ll be able to enjoy the activity.
Finally, this website also includes the option to check flights to destinations by specific date or by whole month if you know when you would like to visit.
Google Flights — Google Flights also provides the calendar view to help travelers see prices. In addition to this, you can get Google Flight alerts to your email which show fluctuating flight prices.
Essential Apps. While I don’t expect you to use all of these apps like me, there are a few that I must highlight:
- Booking.com — Booking.com is a member of the Priceline group, so its search functions are similar to Priceline.com. The difference between the two is that Booking.com seems to emphasize smaller-brand, boutique, and locally-owned hotels while Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz, and the like generally list larger brands with more name recognition. A nice option for my fellow boutique hotel lovers.
- Hopper — Oh, Hopper. Such a cute app and its functionality is great! A unique function in this travel app is that it watches flight prices for you and sends you notifications as prices change. This is pretty sweet if you have a destination in mind.
- Hotel Tonight — Have you ever had to take a last minute trip and had to scramble for accommodations? Hotel Tonight is perfect for last minute hotel booking at a discount! It also ranks the kind of hotel from crashpad to basic to solid to charming to hip to highroller. Pretty unique and aesthetically pleasing if you care about that kind of thing.
- Last Minute — Last Minute is another useful app for booking flights. There are plenty of filters on this app to allow you to craft the travelling experience that you want. This app directs you to websites of airlines or travel agencies for booking.
- Momondo — Like Google Flights and Skyscanner, Momondo also gives you the opportunities to search for any destination from any airport and will give approximate pricing.
When Choosing Experiences — Reviews Are a Must
Airbnb: Home of superhosts, experience recommendations and restaurant recommendations of locals. If the place that you’re looking to visit is pricey as far as hotel accommodations are concerned, consider Airbnb. Stay with a superhost if booking a shared home, or in a place with lots of reviews! Remember, safety is first and foremost.
I just returned from a trip to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (“TCI”). Hotel accommodations in TCI can cost upwards of $800 per night. However, I chose to stay in an Airbnb home with a superhost and it was the best decision I could have made. Not only were our accommodations clean (and absolutely beautiful), we felt safe and secure and on top of that our superhost was amazing! I chose this place in particular because previous guests raved that the host gave great insider perspectives as a local. We were super thankful for the tips that our host shared with us! In addition to this, our accommodations were only about $85 per night! My kind of price. ;)
Did you know that you can also search experiences and restaurants on the Airbnb website? This neat options allows travelers to view recommended restaurants and experiences from local hosts.
HostelWorld: Where International Travelers Meet. Hostels are a fun option if you are interested in getting to know travelers from around the world. HostelWorld is a great platform that provides ratings and reviews for hostels worldwide.
Hostels are usually a fairly safe and affordable option if traveling internationally. Hostels generally provide “lower-priced, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, and private rooms may also be available.”
When I traveled to Iceland with a group of friends, we stayed at KEX Hostel pictured below. Hostels are a great option if you’re traveling in groups or if you’re a solo traveler who is interested in meeting people from around the world.
If you are leery of staying in a hostel, view this HostelWorld blog post which describes the hostel experience and also dispels some crazy myths.
TripAdvisor: A Great Source of Reviews for Experiences. TripAdvisor is a great resource if you are looking to book activities in the area that you are visiting. I especially like TripAdvisor because of the number of verified reviews for activities. As of mid-January, “ TripAdvisor feature[d] 385 million reviews of more than 6.6 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions.” Additionally, the functionality now allows for users to book hotels, flights, vacation rentals, and restaurants directly from the site.
TripAdvisor recently changed the format of the website to give users their own news feed, but for travel experiences. I fear I’ll be spending way more time on the website planning my next adventures now. Check it out!
Free Money!
If you use Google Chrome, the “Honey” browser extension is a necessity.
Honey is a free browser extension that automatically finds and applies coupon codes at checkout for over 30,000 shopping sites. According to its developer, “[H]oney saves people money in 2 ways: 1) automatically applying coupons on the checkout page and 2) giving you extra cash back with every purchase.”
Once Honey is installed, you will see the Honey icon in the top right corner turn orange on Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge when you’re on a shopping site that is supported by Honey.
I completely understand if you are leery of installing this browser extension. Data privacy is a huge concern for me too. However, rest assured, as the developer of Honey has stated that “[h]oney makes money by getting a commission from merchants and then giving a portion of it back to our user as cash back. We DO NOT sell or share your data in any way.”
*whispers* This browser extension works on Amazon, as well.
Make an airline rewards account if you have an airline preference. A lot of people book flights based on price. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I did that for a long time. However, if you have an airline preference, sign up for their rewards account. I have accounts for most major airlines but generally only fly Delta or JetBlue. You earn miles for each flight and you can even earn miles based on the restaurants you utilize.
If you have a TrueBlue account, become a Jet Opinions member. You will be able to earn TrueBlue points with each survey taken. Those points add up quickly and before you know it one of those $49 one-way sales will come and you’ll be able to use those TrueBlue points for a flight!
Credit Cards… Most airlines offer credit cards. I don’t have an airline credit card so I can’t speak to perks. However, I do book every flight on my credit card in order to receive cashback rewards. Once I book a flight using my credit card, I immediately pay off the cost of the flight. It’s easy to forget about purchases made using credit cards until you see your statement, so pay it off!
Be fiscally responsible. Do not go into debt just to travel. It’s not worth it.
One Last Thing…
Fun is awaiting you in your own backyard!
I was gifted this book by a good friend and I fully plan to utilize it during my domestic U.S. and Canadian travels from now on. This is a solid investment if you’re looking for some fun activities.
This book includes information about in-state road trips, tourism, landscapes, festivals, local food and drinks, hidden treasures, and little-known facts, among other things.
It also has some pretty breathtaking pictures and is undoubtedly, a great gift for anyone who loves to travel.
Well, I think that’s it. I hope that you all find these tips to be useful.
Happy travels!
Tae Scott is an Environmental and Energy attorney who is currently taking a well-deserved break. I believe in prioritizing ones well-being and mental health. I believe in social justice. I believe in being the change I wish to see. I believe that by sharing my journey, someone will feel a little less alone. I look forward to continuing to share my journey, thoughts, and opinions with you all in the future.
